Cushion for a vehicle seat

ABSTRACT

A cushion has a cushion core, particularly made of a foam material, and an air-permeable and moisture-permeable covering layer that covers the core. To improve the climate comfort by ensuring good removal of moisture from the area between covering layer and cushion core, longitudinal and transverse grooves, spaced apart from one another, are formed in the surface of the cushion core covered by the covering layer. These grooves are open toward the covering layer and intersect one another. In addition, the cushion core is provided with channels which pass through the entire thickness of the core and which, at one end, open out at the points of intersection of the longitudinal and transverse grooves and, at the other end, open freely to the outside of the cushion core.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a cushion for a vehicle seat.

In a cushion of this type known from German document DE 33 06 871 A1,shells are fitted into longitudinal grooves arranged in the seat areaand/or backrest area of the cushion core, these shells being open towardthe outside and being connected at one end to a suction pump via a mainconnection tube. In an alternative configuration of this known vehicleseat, the cushion core is provided with channels which pass through theentire thickness of the core. The channels are open at both ends andopen out freely on the underside of the cushion, since in this area theypass through a seat bucket of the vehicle seat receiving the cushion.Both structural configurations of the cushion involve air extraction orair exchange in order to carry away the heat and moisture which formbetween the covering layer and the cushion when the seat is occupied bya passenger, and in order thereby to improve the climate of the vehicleseat.

In a heated vehicle seat known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,439, the cushionbody of the seat cushion and backrest is provided, underneath a coveringlayer over the cushion body, with transverse grooves into which thereopen air inlet channels extending through the cushion body at rightangles to the transverse grooves. Temperature-controlled warm air,generated in a heating pump with heat exchanger, is blown into the inletchannels.

In a vehicle seat known from U.S. Patent Application Publication2001/0035669 A1, the cushion body of a seat cushion comprises a networkof channels which pass through the cushion body in a large number ofdifferent directions. In a central area, a number of channels of bycomparison greater internal diameter pass more or less perpendicularlythrough the cushion body and open out at the underside of the body.Arranged below the mouths of these channels there is a fan which sucksair through the cushion from the upper face of the cushion body.

A vehicle seat known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,770,318 has a seat cushion anda backrest in whose cushion bodies there are intersecting longitudinaland transverse grooves which are covered by a cushion lining. At thecentral area of the seat body, the cushion lining has four holes passingthrough it which communicate with the longitudinal and transversegrooves and with channels extending perpendicularly through the cushionbody. Arranged directly underneath the holes, there are nonreturn valveswhich ensure that air does not flow out of the channels through theholes. The cushion body of the backrest has a similar design. At the endremote from the holes, the mouths of the vertical channels passingthrough the cushion bodies are connected to one another via a connectiontube. As a result of vibrations caused by the person seated on the seatcushion, air is pumped out of the channels of the seat cushion into thechannels of the backrest, thereby ventilating the latter.

A water-impermeable and breathable lining for mattresses known fromGerman document DE 201 20 207 U1 is composed of a layer ofwater-impermeable material in which intersecting longitudinal andtransverse grooves are formed. Continuous tubes perpendicular to thelayer are formed which, at one end, open into the points of intersectionof the longitudinal and transverse channels and, at the other end, openout on the underside of the layer. By structuring the layer in this way,horizontal and vertical air intake and air removal is made possibleduring use of the mattress.

In a vehicle seat known from German document DE 198 05 173 C, thecushion in the seat part and backrest has a ventilation layer throughwhich air can flow and a cushion lining stretched across the surface ofthe cushion directed toward the person occupying the seat. Air channelsare worked into the cushion and open out from the underside and rearside of the cushion directed away from the cushion lining and open intothe ventilation layer. In these air channels, there are miniature fanswhich force air from underneath or behind the cushion into theventilation layer, and the air blown in is removed from the ventilationlayer through channels which start from the ventilation layer and passthrough the cushion.

In the case of a cushion for a vehicle seat of the type mentioned at theoutset, that is to say a full-foam cushion, the object of the inventionis to further improve the seat climate at minimal additional productioncost.

According to the invention, this object is achieved.

The cushion according to the invention for a vehicle seat, which can bea cushion for the seat part of the vehicle seat (seat cushion) or acushion for the backrest (backrest cushion), has the advantage that thenetwork of longitudinal and transverse grooves communicating with theenvironment via the channels passing through the cushion core ensuresvery good removal of moisture from the surface of the cushion core madeof moisture-impermeable material. The moisture passing through thecovering layer is transported via the longitudinal and transversegrooves to the mouths of the channels, and the moisture passes throughthe channels into the open. The air which is blown by the miniature fansinto the network of longitudinal and transverse grooves, and which isremoved again through the channels present in the cushion, generates avery intensive flow of air through the longitudinal and transversegrooves and very rapid removal of heat and moisture from theintermediate cushion area delimited by covering layer and cushion core.

Advantageous embodiments of the cushion according to the invention, withpreferred refinements and configurations of the invention, are also setout in the patent claims.

The invention is described in more detail below on the basis ofillustrative embodiments shown in the drawings, in which each of thefigures shows a schematic view.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a plan view of a seat cushion of a vehicle seat with thecovering layer partially cut away,

FIG. 2 shows a cross section along the line II-II in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 shows the same view as in FIG. 1, but of a modified seat cushion,and

FIG. 4 shows a cross section along the line IV-IV in FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A vehicle seat has, in a known manner, a seat part and a backrest whichare both covered with a cushion. FIGS. 1 and 2 show only the seatcushion of the vehicle seat, but its structure, as described below,applies also to the backrest cushion.

The cushion is composed of a cushion core 11, made from a block of foam,and of an air-permeable and moisture-permeable covering layer 12 whichcovers the cushion core 11 and which in turn has a support 13 made ofreticulated foam and an air-permeable lining 14 which secures thesupport 13 on the surface of the cushion core 11. The lining 14 is madeof fabric or of perforated leather. In some cases, the support 13 can bereplaced by a nonwoven or can be omitted altogether. A heating mat forheating the seat is normally also inserted into the support 13, but thisis not shown here. The cushion 10 in the seat part is fitted on a seatbucket or, as in the illustrative embodiment described, on a sprung core15 which is secured in a seat frame of the seat part.

In the cushion core 11, longitudinally extending grooves 16 andtransversely extending grooves 17 are formed in the surface directedtoward the covering layer 12. The longitudinal and transverse grooves16, 17 intersect one another and are open toward the covering layer 12.At the points of intersection of longitudinal grooves 16 and transversegrooves 17, the cushion core 11 has channels 18 which pass through theentire core thickness of the cushion core 11 and open out freely on theouter face of the cushion core 11 directed away from the covering layer12. The longitudinal grooves 16, the transverse grooves 17 and thechannels 18 are produced during the foaming of the cushion core 11.

The network of longitudinal grooves 16 and transverse grooves 17, inconjunction with the channels 18, ensures that moisture produced by theoccupant of the seat is removed from the covering layer 12 to theoutside of the cushion 10. The moisture is transported through thelongitudinal and transverse grooves 16, 17 to the hollows where themouths of the channels 18 lie, and the moisture passes through thesechannels 18 into the open. In this way, in a so-called full-foam cushionwhose cushion core is not itself permeable to moisture, a comfortableseat climate is generated, as is achieved, in the case of expensiveseats, only by using expensive knitted spacer fabric across the cushioncore 11.

As is illustrated in FIG. 2, a fan 20 can also be arranged outside thecushion (underneath it in the case of a seat cushion) at a distance fromthe latter on the vehicle seat, and this fan 20 causes air to impact acentral area of the cushion core 11. By means of this central fan 20,air from the area surrounding the cushion is blown into the channels 18located in the central area of the cushion core 11. This air passes intothe network of longitudinal grooves 16 and transverse grooves 17 andflows back to the outer face of the cushion via the channels 18 presentin the edge area of the cushion core 11. The air flow is indicated byarrows in FIG. 2. This active removal of moisture from the cushiongreatly increases the effectiveness of the removal of moisture whichpasses through the air-permeable and moisture-permeable covering layer12 into the longitudinal and transverse grooves 16, 17.

In the cushion shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and intended for a vehicle seat,an alternative embodiment for active removal of moisture from thefull-foam cushion is illustrated. The structure of the cushion withcushion core 11 and covering layer 12 and with the longitudinal grooves16, transverse grooves 17 and channels 18 formed in the cushion core 11is unchanged and is as described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.In addition, two shafts 21 spaced apart from one another are alsopresent in the central area in the cushion core 11, and, like thechannels 18, they pass through the entire core thickness of the cushioncore 11 and, at one end, open out at the point of intersection of alongitudinal groove 16 and a transverse groove 17 and, at the other end,open out freely on the outer face of the cushion core 11, but have amuch greater internal diameter compared to the channels 18. In theillustrative embodiment described, both shafts 21 are arranged in thecenter axis of the cushion core 11, one shaft 21 lying more or lesscentrally in the cushion core 11 while the other shaft 21 is offsetcloser to the front edge of the cushion core 11. Arranged in each shaft21 there is a miniature fan 22 which is secured in a known manner in thecushion core 11 via a grommet (not shown here). By means of the twominiature fans 22, air is sucked in from the outside of the cushion andis forced through the shafts 21 into the network of longitudinal grooves16 and transverse grooves 17. There, the air picks up the moisture andflows through the channels 18 back to the outside of the cushion core11.

1-3. (canceled)
 4. A cushion for a vehicle seat, comprising: a cushioncore made of a foam material, an air-permeable and moisture-permeablecovering layer by which the cushion core is lined, and a network formedin the cushion core, the network comprising grooves spaced apart fromone another, which are open toward the covering layer, and through whichair is forced, and channels which pass through an entire core thicknessof the cushion core and which, at one end, open into grooves and, at theother end, open out freely on an outer face of the cushion core directedaway from said grooves, wherein the grooves are intersectinglongitudinal grooves and transverse grooves having intersection areas atwhich the channels open out, wherein at least one shaft is provided inthe cushion core, passes completely through the core thickness of thecushion core, opens out in at least one of the longitudinal grooves, thetransverse grooves, or both the longitudinal and the transverse grooves,and is open on the outer face of the cushion core directed away from thelongitudinal and transverse grooves, and wherein a miniature fan, whichsucks air in from an area surrounding the cushion, is arranged in the atleast one shaft.
 5. The cushion as claimed in claim 4, wherein a mouthof the at least one shaft is positioned in an intersection area of oneof the longitudinal grooves and one of the transverse grooves.
 6. Thecushion as claimed in claim 4, wherein the covering layer has a support,made of reticulated foam, and an air-permeable lining stretching acrossthe support.
 7. The cushion as claimed in claim 5, wherein the coveringlayer has a support, made of reticulated foam, and an air-permeablelining stretching across the support.